Chris Pendleton was driving down Interstate-5 on his way to Corvallis from Portland International Airport after a 13-day road trip that saw Oregon State wrestle a dual meet at Oregon State and three matches at the National Duals in New Orleans.

In his third season as the Beavers’ head coach, Pendleton said he feels like he’s on the front end of a tornado.

“When I think about it, it feels like Year 10 sometimes,” he says with a laugh. “We’re working at warp speed every day. We have done a lot in a short amount of time. It’s exciting. Selfishly, I know we’re on holiday break, but I wouldn’t mind having practice tomorrow.”

Not gonna happen. After 11 competitions since the opening dual against Lehigh on Nov. 5, the Beavers won’t compete again until a highly anticipated matchup with 13th-ranked Oklahoma State Jan. 8 at Gill Coliseum. The recharge, Pendleton says, is necessary.

“Best thing about the trip? After being on the road for 13 days, everybody didn’t kill each other,” says Pendleton, chuckling again. “It’s one of the longest road trips I’ve been on.”

Oregon State opened with a 31-3 loss at Penn State — the No. 1-ranked team and defending national champion — before a crowd of 6,500 and an ESPNU audience. In New Orleans, OSU fell to sixth-ranked Iowa State 26-6 and to 12th-ranked Cornell 32-7 before beating Central Michigan 39-10.

“You always want to win dual meets, but when you’re going up against some of the top wrestlers in the country, that’s not always possible,” Pendleton says.

Against both Penn State and Cornell, Oregon State lost five matches by three or fewer points. Against Iowa State, the count was six. There were plenty of close matches.

“Lots of good wrestling without results, but the competition was some of the best in the country,” Pendleton says. “That’s a good indication we’re on the right track. It’s great preparation for the end of the year.”

In the latest national poll, the Beavers are the team receiving the most points in voting after the top 25. Pendleton isn’t concerned about rankings, though he knows it catches the eye of media, fans and recruits. He speaks mostly in coaching terms, speaking about development and using strong competition to get better.

That’s what the Beavers have done since he arrived in Corvallis in 2020 after six seasons as an assistant at Arizona State, trying to improve an OSU program that had been somewhat mediocre in recent years. His first season, Oregon State was 4-5 in duals, placed second in the Pac-12 Championships and 48th in the NCAA meet. Last season, OSU was 8-3 in duals, second again in the Pac-12s — losing to champion Arizona State by a half point — and a strong 12th at nationals in Detroit. Eight Beaver wrestlers qualified and four attained All-America status, the most for the program since 1995. Three of them return — junior Brandon Kaylor, who placed eighth at 125; sophomore Matt Olguin at 165 and senior Aaron Olmos at 174. Olguin and sophomore Trey Munoz each won two matches at nationals.

To cap it off, Pendleton was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

This year’s team features only three seniors — Olmos, Jason Shaner at 133 and Tanner Harvey at 197.

Olmos, in his sixth year at Oregon State, is 6-5 this season.

“Aaron had a rough start with the tragic passing of his father after our first match,” Pendleton says. “He had to go home and take care of his family and was out of training for a couple of weeks. He is behind the curve a little bit, but that’s life. You have to figure out a way to catch up.”

Shaner, a former national junior college champion, is a senior with a 17-6 record. He is ranked 16th nationally.

“Jason is a high-energy guy, frankly, a little wild out there at times,” Pendleton says. “But the guy believes in himself, a very important attribute to have.”

Harvey transferred from American University two years ago, then missed all of last season following ACL knee surgery. The senior is 14-5 and ranked 22th nationally.

“Tanner was out of action for 2 1/2 years, and he has wrestled extremely well,” Pendleton says. “He has been a blessing to have in the program. He is getting his timing back. Every time out he gets a little more comfortable. He is winning matches against All-Americans.”

Munoz is Oregon State’s highest-ranked wrestler at No. 8. The fourth-year sophomore was 24-5 for the Beavers last season after a transfer from Arizona State. This season, he is 14-2 and has been dominant, beating No. 7-ranked Marcus Coleman of Iowa State 8-4 in New Orleans. Coleman beat Munoz 18-13 in last year’s NCAA meet.

“Trey won a redemption match, which was good to see,” Pendleton says. “If that’s not a shot in the arm, I don’t know what is. He has to continue to believe himself, that he is one of the elite guys in the nation. He is good enough to be a national title threat.”

If Munoz were to win, he would become the first Beaver NCAA champion since the legendary Les Gutches in 1996.

Kaylor, ranked 17th nationally, is 15-4 this season and 81-29 through his five-year career at OSU.

“He is an intellectual wrestler and one of our hardest-working guys,” Pendleton says. “It’s been great to see him go from a .500 wrestler to developing into an All-American.”

A sophomore ranked 18th nationally, Olguin is 14-5.

“He has been everything we thought he could be,” Pendleton says, “yet he still hasn’t gotten to the level he is capable of. He had an amazing tournament in Las Vegas, knocking off some tough guys. He can compete with anybody. The question is, is he going to take that next step?”

Pendleton’s only transfer this season, Cleveland Belton from Arizona State, has been a regular at 141, going 12-5 as a redshirt sophomore. He was Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week in early November.

“He’s been up and down, and he can use this break,” Pendleton says. “We’re hoping for a big second half of the season from him.”

The Beavers’ most promising freshman, Noah Tolentino from Poway, Calif., has gone 8-7 at 149. Pendleton will soon put the brakes on him, though, to preserve a redshirt season. The coach was impressed watching Tolentino wrestle Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness, who is 9-1 and ranked No. 15 nationally. Van Ness beat Tolentino 6-1 but led only 2-1 entering the final period.

“Noah is really good,” Pendleton says. “He has gotten some invaluable experience. I was giddy watching him wrestle Van Ness. To go toe to toe with a guy that good with that vicious crowd cheering against him was good to see.”

Oregon State’s next match is special to its coach. Pendleton had a storied career at Oklahoma State, a two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American who later was a member of three U.S. national teams. Oklahoma State won three straight NCAA championships during Pendleton’s time as a competitor there and has claimed a record 33 team titles since the inaugural NCAA meet in 1928.

The Cowboys are ranked 13th nationally, down a little bit from their storied reputation.

“You don’t buy too much in the ranking with an historic program like theirs,” Pendleton says. “They might be down on paper, but they are a dominant program with great coaching and high-level recruits. There is plenty of talent in that lineup. We are excited to get them at our place. We want to show we can compete against anybody in the country regardless of pedigree.”

Before the Pac-12 meet March 5 at Stanford is a Feb. 5 dual with fourth-ranked Arizona State in Corvallis. The Sun Devils are the biggest obstacle facing the Beavers as they attempt to gain their first Pac-12 title since 2016.

“They’re a tough program, with three All-American transfers in their lineup right now,” Pendleton says. “But I think we’re right there in terms of competing with them. It will take a 10-wrestler effort.”

It would appear the Beavers have a strong chance to have seven wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships.

“I don’t think in those terms,” Pendleton says. “We’re ahead of schedule from last year, when we were projected to have three wrestlers qualify. We’re trying to develop and improve in every respect from Jan. 1 to March. How good can we get? We’ll find out.”

Pendleton, incidentally, told me there is a chance that perennial national power Oklahoma will eventually join the wrestling Pac-12, which currently consists of Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield and Arkansas Little Rock. Oklahoma will join the SEC, which doesn’t have wrestling, in 2025.

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